1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a replaceable cover for a stave of a material storage and handling reel and for a material storage and handling reel employing a replaceable stave.
2. Prior Art Statement
It is known to provide a storage and handling reel for wire, rope, flexible tubing or fiber optic cable that has wooden flanges spaced apart by a plurality of curved or straight wood boards held in grooves in the flanges by through bolts, the boards substantially comprising a core of the reel. For instance, see the photograph of a standard wooden reel.
It is also known to provide three curved core segments for a conventional reel wherein the three curved segments fit into the groove of the standard wooden flanges. It is intended to dispose of the flanges will likely be thrown away but that the plastic core segments are to be returned to the winding facility for construction of another reel. For instance, see the U.S. Pat. No. 5,246,184 issued on Sep. 21, 1993 to Stephen W. Trewhella.
It is further known to provide a hub that is covered with materials such rubber, plastic, wood, carpet or fabric or may consist of a plurality of separate plates individually supported on a smaller central hub. In another embodiment, the hub may include a biasing member to exert a radially outward force on the spooled tubing. For instance, see U.S. Pat. No. 6,460,796 B1 issued on Oct. 8, 2002 to Berning, et al.
Finally, it is known to provide staves on a reel that are rigidly affixed to one of the flange assemblies, preferably every other spoke of the flange, while a corresponding flange has a receiving socket with a keeper. The staves are made of tubing and the assembled cage of staves is covered with a flexible sheet material of fiberboard, metal or plastic to protect from kinking or bending of the electrical cable when wound on the reel. The reel is a “lightweight reel” which can be readily disassembled, several nested together and shipped in the nested condition. Another reel which is capable of being disassembled and shipped has the staves bolted to central hub plates in slots adjacent the spokes. There are two slots in each hub plate which allows two staves in close spaced relationship at each spoke. For instance, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,345,724 or 6,651,926 B1 issued on Aug. 24, 1982, Nov. 25, 2003 to Willard G. Lindell and William J. Alexander, respectively.